The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

SECTION CXLV

“Sanjaya said, ’Hearing the twang, resembling
the loud call of Death himself or the frightful peal
of Indra’s thunder, of Dhananjaya’s bow,
while he stretched it, that host of thine, O king,
anxious with fear and exceedingly agitated, became
like the waters of the sea with fishes and makaras
within them, ruffled into mountain-like waves and lashed
into fury by the hurricane that arises at the end
of the Yuga. Then Dhananjaya, the son of Pritha,
careered in battle in such a way that he was seen
at the same time to be present in all directions, displaying
his wonderful weapons. Indeed, so light-handed
was the son of Pandu that we could not mark when he
took out his shafts, O king, when he fixed them on
the bow-string, when he stretched the bow, and when
he let them off. Then the mighty-armed one, O
king, excited with wrath, invoked into existence the
invincible Aindra weapon, frightening all the Bharatas.
Hundreds and thousands of blazing shafts of fiery
mouths, inspired by mantras with the force of celestial
weapons, flowed from it. With those shafts resembling
fire or the rays of the sun, coursing with fierce impetuosity,
the welkin became incapable of being gazed at, as
if filled with flashing meteors. Then that darkness
which had been caused by the Katirava with their arrows,
which was incapable of being dispersed even in imagination
by others, the son of Pandu, careering around and
displaying his prowess, destroyed by means of those
shafts of his that were inspired by means of mantras
with the force of celestial weapons, like the sun himself
speedily dispersing at dawn of day the darkness of
night by means of his rays. Then the puissant
Arjuna, with those blazing shafts of his, sucked the
lives of thy warriors like the summer sun sucking with
his hot rays the waters of tanks and lakes. Indeed,
showers of shafts endued with the force of celestial
weapons, (shot by Arjuna) covered the hostile army
like the rays of the sun covering the earth. Other
arrows of fierce energy, sped (by Dhananjaya), quickly
entered the hearts of (hostile) heroes, like dear
friends. Indeed, those brave warriors that came
in that battle before Arjuna, all perished like insects
approaching a blazing fire. Thus crushing the
lives of his foes and their fame, Partha careered
in that battle like Death in embodied form. Heads
decked with diadems, massive arms, adorned with Angadas,
and ears with ear-rings of the foes, Partha, cut off
with his shafts. The arms, with spears, of elephant-riders;
those, with lances, of horsemen; those, with shields,
of foot-soldiers; those with bows, of car-warriors;
and those, with whips and goads, of charioteers the
son of Pandu cut off. Indeed, Dhananjaya looked
resplendent with his shafts of blazing points that
seemed to constitute his rays, like a blazing fire
with incessant sparks and rising flames. The
hostile kings, mustering all their resolution, could